How are Martin Luther King Jr.'s words in his "letter from Birmingham Jail" still relevant to us today?

Answer 1

Some of the main themes from King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" are addressing the concerns of a predominantly white opposition and why it is important to protest in the streets not just through the courtrooms. These are still incredibly important today since we are in the midst of a country-wise reassessment of the role of racism and disparity, and particularly how it impacts black Americans. The current Black Lives Matter movement is a new wave in the journey to equity and equality in the United States that was greatly furthered by King.

In particular, right now we see a pushback against the protests. Often this pushback comes from whites, who may struggle to see their own privilege while they are ignorant of the struggle blacks currently still face. King argues that protests are necessary forms of confrontation that allows the fight for equality to be brought to the public, rather than being hidden in the courts. I would compare and contrast the original civil rights movement spearheaded by King to the current BLM movement.

In your essay, I would link King's message to the messages of the BLM movement. You may consider issues such as racial profiling by police, poverty and race, and the current disparity between black and white deaths due to COVID-19. A unique way that you could incorporate a modern form of institutionalized racism is by discussing children of color in the school system. You might want to reference the fact that children of color are more often placed in special education than their white counterparts, even when they do not have learning disabilities and that teachers are more likely to label children of color as "problematic". Since education is foundational in forming our views of the world, developing this insight could lend credence to your argument that the institutionalized discrimination that black citizens face begins early and is still being carried on, and hence King's message is still very relevant.

Here are some resources you might find useful:

Summary of the Letter

https://www.litcharts.com/lit/letter-from-birmingham-jail/summary

Comparing the civil rights movement and BLM

https://news.northeastern.edu/2020/06/04/how-do-todays-black-lives-matter-protests-compare-to-the-civil-rights-movement-of-the-1960s/

COVID-19 and race

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/too-many-black-americans-are-dying-from-covid-19/

Special Education and race

https://hechingerreport.org/special-educations-hidden-racial-gap/